I-35 MLK Bridge Reconstruction and Oak Hill Lane Closures to Impact Monday Commute

I-35 Capital Express Central: MLK Bridge and Riverside

Austin commuters should prepare for significant travel adjustments today, Monday, February 23, 2026, as several major infrastructure projects enter critical phases. The ongoing reconstruction of the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard bridge remains a primary bottleneck for central travelers. Crews have closed the northern portion of the bridge for demolition and widening, reducing travel lanes from four down to three. Currently, there are two lanes available for eastbound traffic and only one for westbound traffic.

Additionally, the southbound MLK Jr. Boulevard exit from the I-35 upper deck is closed, as is the northbound on-ramp to I-35 located north of 15th Street. Drivers heading to the University of Texas campus should expect heavy delays and are encouraged to use Manor Road or 15th Street as detours. Further south, the Lady Bird Lake segment continues to see shifts. The northbound I-35 frontage road across the Lady Bird Lake bridge is reduced to a single lane. Commuters should continue using the Riverside Drive bypass lane to navigate the area north of Riverside.

Oak Hill Parkway and Southwest Austin Alerts

In Southwest Austin, the Oak Hill Parkway project will see several lane closures beginning this evening. Starting at 8:00 PM, the left lanes of both eastbound and westbound SH 71 will be closed between Center of the Hills and Hill Meadow Drive. Simultaneously, both directions of William Cannon Drive will be reduced to a single lane between the NXP driveway and Escarpment Boulevard. Nightly closures also include the westbound SH 71 U-turn at Scenic Brook Drive starting at 11:00 PM. Motorists are advised to use the U-turn at Silvermine Drive or Fletcher Lane as an alternative.

Downtown and Public Transit Detours

In the downtown core, utility and drainage work has led to the closure of the outside northbound lane on Congress Avenue and the outside westbound lane on Cesar Chavez Street. Left-hand turns from southbound Congress onto eastbound Cesar Chavez remain prohibited; drivers should detour at 2nd Street. Near the Festival Beach Food Forest, utility relocation for the I-35 expansion is also underway, which may cause minor frontage road disruptions.

CapMetro riders should note several active construction detours affecting service today:

• Slaughter Lane: Construction on the I-35 southbound frontage road continues to detour local service.
• Airport and Bolm: Detours remain in place for routes traversing this East Austin intersection through late May.
• South Austin: Waterline installations on Westgate and near Lady Bird Lake are causing intermittent stop closures and reroutes.

For those traveling between North Austin and the tech corridor, the recently opened Northbound 183 toll lanes between Mopac and SH 45 offer a faster alternative to the standard frontage roads, which remain under construction for ramp improvements.